Anyone having a large destination wedding?

I really love this thread. I am planning a large destination wedding in the Dominican Republic at the Dreams La Romana resort. We sent out save the dates to approximately 175 people and even more invites, so no one can say they weren't invited. Currently, the guest list is at 139, so with the people who have spouses we are at around 300 guests. We are hoping that only 100 people will show, including the wedding party (17). I too have 8 bridesmaids and 7 groomsmen. I also have divorced parents with a step-family that I am inviting as well. The problem, both of our families are large. I foresee that a lot of our guests will attempt to book through other means or complain about the price of the trip, but we gave everyone a year to plan for this. We let them know about the DW as soon as we decided to have one and we have already sent out the STDs.

It was my plan to send out the invitations aruund Dec and have the cut off by Feb 14th but I think I need to send them sooner because the rates of the hotel now are only good if they book before January 7th.

I really love this thread. I am planning a large destination wedding in the Dominican Republic at the Dreams La Romana resort. We sent out save the dates to approximately 175 people and even more invites, so no one can say they weren't invited. Currently, the guest list is at 139, so with the people who have spouses we are at around 300 guests. We are hoping that only 100 people will show, including the wedding party (17). I too have 8 bridesmaids and 7 groomsmen. I also have divorced parents with a step-family that I am inviting as well. The problem, both of our families are large. I foresee that a lot of our guests will attempt to book through other means or complain about the price of the trip, but we gave everyone a year to plan for this. We let them know about the DW as soon as we decided to have one and we have already sent out the STDs.

It was my plan to send out the invitations aruund Dec and have the cut off by Feb 14th but I think I need to send them sooner because the rates of the hotel now are only good if they book before January 7th.

I would def send out the invites before Dec seeing as how the rates are only good until Jan. 7th. That way it gives them enough time to get their money together and book.

Love your attitude Maura. We didn't get a lot of complaints, thank God, but there were a few that got to me at first. What you said is spot on. Wish me wish and keep it moving...I've got a fabulous destination wedding to plan!

Originally Posted by maura777

MissSimone - I understand what you mean about some people not being able to afford the trip. I have lots of people complaining to me about the cost of the trip. It's so frustrating and I wish they would understand that the decision has already been made, and complaining to me just adds to my already high stress level. I don't want to sound insensitive to their financial situations, but the fact is that I am not going to change it, and in having a destination wedding we all knew from the get go that some people just won't be able to make it. Complain to someone else, please!

As for my wedding party, I am not paying for them, though I am trying to help minimize costs by buying their dresses and jewelry and letting them wear whatever shoes they want.

We sent out about 65 invites and assumed our max was going to be at 35. Right now we're at 50, 27 days away and STILL people are deciding on whether they are going. I only got back about 40% of the RSVPs from the folks who DID actually book.Last week I found out through a cousin that some other family members were going! Had she not told me I wouldn't have known til we were at the resort! Crazy! And I know we will have more that will decide at the very last second. Gotta love family. I really wanted this to be small, butu surprisingly more people are coming than we thought. I refuse to stress though.

We sent out about 65 invites and assumed our max was going to be at 35. Right now we're at 50, 27 days away and STILL people are deciding on whether they are going. I only got back about 40% of the RSVPs from the folks who DID actually book.Last week I found out through a cousin that some other family members were going! Had she not told me I wouldn't have known til we were at the resort! Crazy! And I know we will have more that will decide at the very last second. Gotta love family. I really wanted this to be small, butu surprisingly more people are coming than we thought. I refuse to stress though.

I have not sent out STD or RSVP yet but just by word of mouth, it looks like a lot of people may be attending. I seriously am amazed about the response and really hope it's less than 50 people but I guess it doesn't really matter cause I wanted a lunch reception since my wedding is at 11am and the free dinner is at 6pm. Then you have people just inviting themselves which is also a nuisance but like a cousin who I am not close to saying she will try to attend. I was in her wedding last year and I guess it's rude to invite her daughter and not her so I will probably need to invite her now. Not a big deal but I made a list and have a good idea who won't be able to make it. I am nervous my "small" destination wedding will be larger than originally hoped but I am extremely grateful people are willing to travel and attend my Friday wedding, lol.

Originally Posted by JennandMike08

We sent out about 65 invites and assumed our max was going to be at 35. Right now we're at 50, 27 days away and STILL people are deciding on whether they are going. I only got back about 40% of the RSVPs from the folks who DID actually book.Last week I found out through a cousin that some other family members were going! Had she not told me I wouldn't have known til we were at the resort! Crazy! And I know we will have more that will decide at the very last second. Gotta love family. I really wanted this to be small, butu surprisingly more people are coming than we thought. I refuse to stress though.

i searched and found this thread cause im dealing w a lot of the same issues you ladies described.

We trulu didn't anticipate having over 40 guests and are now up to 105! At one point we were at 120 and then had some people cancel which was aggravating cause i was stressing trying to accommodate them in the first place! Everyone's travel plans and offering them group rates weren't good enough for some and then the airlines canceled all direct flights to Punta Cana! Don't get me wrong we're so grateful to have everyone show their love and come but its been very overwhelming! I feel better just venting!

thank you ladies, its nice to know there are others going thru it too!!!